Colonials have sunny outlook after Florida trip

Published 12:15 am, Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Western Connecticut State University softball players arrived in Hartford Saturday afternoon with very big smiles on their faces, despite having to return to the chilly New England weather conditions.

There was more reason to be happy than to complain about having to leave Florida and go back to putting on extra layers of clothes.

The Colonials (12-4) came back home after going 11-1 during their road trip to the Sunshine State and are well on their way to another successful season.

"It was a great trip," eighth-year coach and Western graduate Heather Stone said. "We did some really good things.

We had some great pitching and got a lot of timely hits. We have a young team, so it helps to get off to a good start."

Western, which boasts only two seniors (captains Jessica Caturano and Kylee Ruther) and four juniors on its roster, is off to a strong start thanks to a talented pitching duo and plenty of timely hitting.

"We had a blast," junior outfielder and captain Erin Biskup said. "We are a really close team. Everyone contributed to wins on the trip in some sort of way.

"We have a lot of potential and high hopes that we can go far."

No team will have high expectations unless the players know they can rely on a talented pitching staff.

The Colonials are lucky enough to have a pair of aces in sophomores Emily Cintorino and Alle Sabith.

Sabith, who relies on a potent curveball, has rolled up a 7-3 record and 1.68 ERA to start the season. Cintorino, who relies on a screwball and changeup, has a 5-1 record with a 2.06 ERA.

"They both work both sides of the plate and have great control," Stone said. "They both are great teammates and don't get caught up in stats. They are not worried about who gets the credit or if there is a game where we don't score many runs. They trust in their teammates more this year."

The duo were rivals in high school with Sabith playing for Maloney High in Meriden and Cintorino pitching for Bristol Central.

"They both work so well together," Biskup said. "They have matured and grown so much from last year. You can tell they are more confident."

The Colonials got off to slow start as they began the season by dropping three out of four games in Virginia. The only win came with a 3-2 decision against Rowan before the team heated up in Florida.

The bats came around in Florida to help support the pitching and the winning became contagious. The only loss was a 2-1 setback in eight innings against Messiah College.

"We showed our lineup has speed and power," said Biskup, who is batting .302 in 43 at-bats. "We can score runs in a lot of ways."

Ruther helped set the tone early in Florida by homering in her first at-bat in a 4-0 win against Western New England College. Caterano (.289 average, seven RBIs) also delivered some key hits during the trip and scored the winning run on the final day of the trip in a 2-1 win over Amherst College.

"Our two seniors helped lead the way," Stone said.

The Colonials wrapped up their Florida trip by winning three games on the final day. Besides the win over Amherst, the Colonials defeated Bowdoin 5-4 and Manchester 7-2.

Junior Julia Bocek led off the top of the seventh with a home run to help beat Bowdoin as the big hits continued to come from different players. Bocek has a team-high three home runs and is batting .312 with nine RBIs in 48 at-bats.

One of the nine sophomores on the team that made some key contributions according to Stone was Michaela Roche, who has a team-high .357 batting average and has knocked in seven runs in 42 at-bats.

Also playing well has been catcher Erin Weber, who is batting .360 with 10 RBIs. She was a part-time player last year, but appears locked in behind the plate.

"She threw out a lot of runners," Stone said. "I was worried about teams running on us before the season."

The Colonials were scheduled to begin their home season Tuesday with a non-conference doubleheader against Westfield State, but the games were postponed since the field still has water on it. The Colonials' Little East Conference doubleheader against Plymouth State on Saturday is also in doubt if the field conditions remain the same.